When Soda Found Out
by MimiRose113
Summary: Two members of the gang have a secret. What happens when Soda finds out? Slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:****Not mine. Don't sue.****  
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**Author Note:**** My first attempt at a slash fic. I got the urge after reading a few of crankyXwhenXprovoked's fics.  
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><p>Soda gazed at the scene before him, trying to place exactly what it was that was wrong, what is was that was sending this bubble of fury radiating up in his stomach.<p>

It wasn't the jeans on the floor that did it. Jeans were a nightmare to sleep in, he knew from experience. It wasn't the shirts either. No one likes to sleep in day shirts, he understood that. Jacket, shoes, socks. Got it, got it, got it.

So maybe, just maybe, it was the underwear. The two pairs of scattered underwear that had been tossed aside like someone was in a hurry to get rid of them.

But then again, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was the sight of the two sleeping figures in the bed that did it. Sure, Soda knew that didn't mean anything in itself. Him and Pony shared a bed after all. And after Johnny got beaten up by those Socs, Darry had put the younger greaser to bed in his own room, knowing the couch was probably not the most comfy place to recover. Two-Bit had also once before fallen asleep in Darry's room. The pair had drifted off talking late one night after Two-Bit crept into the house after a bust-up with Kathy and needed to vent.

So the two persons in the bed together itself wasn't the cause.

Maybe it was the arm. The arm that was thrown across the younger's waist, fingers spreading across an exposed stomach.

But that, once again, could mean nothing at all. Soda himself had a habit of chucking his arm across Ponyboy while they slept. The youngest Curtis never seemed to mind.

No. No, that wasn't it either.

What was wrong, Soda knew, was the reaction. He'd seen it with his own eyes. The youngest in the bed had frowned in his sleep and let out a low whimper, biting his lip. The arm across his waist had instantly and unconsciously tightened, drawing him closer to the other still-sleeping body under the covers, until they was flat against each other, back to chest. The younger let out a small smile at the movement and quietened down, both never awakening during the whole exchange.

Soda slipped out the room silently. That, he knew, was what turned the scene into something more than it first appeared.

The sight of his best friend and his brother. Curled up naked in each other's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Soda gazed at the wall in front of him without really seeing it, a seldom-seen mug of coffee wrapped between his fingers.

"Hey, Sodie!" Two-Bit greeted, crashing through the front door.

Blinking, Soda's mind returned to his body enough to acknowledge the elder greaser.

"Hey, Two-Bit."

"Any breakfast going?"

"Um…no, not yet. Guess I'd better fix some, seems I'm first up."

He went about fixing eggs and toast for everyone, knowing the whole gang would drop by at some point. He was right. Johnny and Dally came trudging through the door and minutes later Pony's bedroom door creaked open, the shower turning on moments later. Soda silently dealt out the food, timing it perfectly as Ponyboy came out the bathroom fully dressed and sat at the table.

"Who cooked?" he asked.

"Soda did."

"Really? So why's it normal?"

The gang paused as they noted the un-coloured food and turned to stare at the middle Curtis. He shrugged and was saving from answering as Darry came down the hall, the exact moment Steve breezed through the front door.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Steve. Didn't hear your car pull up."

"Walked it. Need to save on gas."

"Shoot, man," Dally growled, blowing a smoke ring. "Didn't see ya or me and Johnny'll have picked you up. Got Buck's T Bird. "

"Need a towel?" Ponyboy offered. "It's tipping it down out there."

"Nah, kid, I ain't that wet."

_Maybe 'cos ya've just climbed out my brother's bedroom window and skirted 'round the house,_ Soda thought.

Steve dropped down in an empty seat and the gang tucked in with relish, especially after Darry got up and fetched the chocolate cake from the fridge. Said cake was then happily washed down with chocolate milk, beer (guess who had that) and, in a couple of cases, coffee. Soda received odd looks from both his brothers at the steaming mug by his plate but he said nothing so they didn't either.

Finally all plates were empty and the washing-up under way. Soda sat quietly at the table, not moving, until Two-Bit got up to go switch on the TV.

"Yay! Mickey!"

"Go join him, guys," Soda announced to the room. "I have something to deal with."

The remaining members of the gang glanced at each other.

"Ya okay, Soda?" Johnny asked softly.

"I dunno. Just go. Please."

Silent and mildly confused, the boys complied, Dally swinging his feet down from Two-Bit's vacated chair to stand up, Johnny hot on his heels.

"Except you," Soda added, pointing at Steve, who froze midway standing up. "And you," he continued, turning to his brothers by the sink.

Darry paused as Soda's finger landed on him and he slowly placed the dish towel back on the counter.

"You both sit," Soda stated, indicating the chairs across from him.

Pony put the remaining dishes in the sink and quickly left for the living room. Soda got up and shut the kitchen door behind him. Ponyboy turned at the sound and stared stupidly at the door for a moment. The kitchen door was never shut, he had forgotten there was even one there.

Back inside the kitchen, Darry was thinking along pretty much the same lines, until he noticed the expression on his younger brother's face as he joined the other two at the table.

"What's going on, Pepsi-Cola?"

"I was going to ask you two the same thing."

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><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>**Did you guess which Curtis brother it was? (Though a few of my early readers probably noticed I edited the last line of the first chappie to disguise it). Please feel free to comment and/or point out any errors, grammatical or otherwise!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: Yes, I'm finally updating. Inspiration suddenly bit so I went with it. Enjoy!**

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><p>"I was going to ask you two the same thing."<p>

Both stared at him blankly. Soda had to hand it to them, they both did a royal job of looking confused.

"I dunno what you mean, Soda."

"Oversleep, did we, Dar?" Soda asked dryly. "Late night, was it?"

Darry opened his mouth to reply but no sound came out. His eyes were beginning to show a tiny bit of panic and his ears were turning red. He gazed down at the tabletop, avoiding Soda's eyes, so the blond Curtis turned to Steve.

"How was your walk here this morning? Take long?"

"I…err…it was okay," Steve responded hesitantly, shooting Darry a glance. "It was…uh…ah, hell," he breathed, still looking at Darry. "He knows, dun 'e?"

"I'd say so," came Darry's soft reply, his eyes still burning a hole in the table. "The question is how?"

"You should try locking the bedroom door for a start."

"But ya guys never come into my room!" Darry protested, finally looking up, then wishing he hadn't due to Soda's expressionless face.

"You've got work today. You overslept. I went to wake you up." He paused. "I was not expecting to see that."

Both of the other greasers were studying the table now, Darry's fingernail absently scratching lines in the wood.

"You tell me off enough for doing that," Soda commented, watching him.

Darry instantly stopped and his hand hovered in the air for a moment as if he was unsure what to do with it. Moments later, he was unconsciously chewing at his thumbnail and Soda found he had to duck his head down as a smile came to his lips.

"What?" his brother asked, warily.

Soda looked back up at him, his expression softer than it had been all morning.

"And you tell Pony off enough for doing _that_. Though you know well enough he only does it when he's nervous. Ya two are way more alike than you think."

He reached over and pulled the eldest Curtis' hand away from his mouth. He couldn't help noticing the slight movement from the other teen out the corner of his eye though. Steve had reached out towards Darry a split second after he himself had done.

Soda turned to stare at him curiously but Steve now had his hands firmly under the table as if realising his error.

"So what is this?" he asked finally. "What's going on between you two?"

"You know," Darry replied, half-suspicious, half-baffled. "You saw."

Soda waved a hand impatiently.

"I saw you together. Now I need details. How long?"

There was a slight pause as the pair looked at each other.

"'Bout a month," Steve replied tersely.

"How'd it start?"

"My old man kicked me out again," Steve murmured. "I came here. No one was home."

"And then what?"

Steve shrugged.

"Darry came home," he replied simply.

Soda got up and started pacing the room. He couldn't sit still for long not even during a conversation as serious as this.

"What was so different about that time, from all the other times ya dad's done it?"

Steve paused and looked over at Darry, who was watching him tell the 'story'.

"Darry came home to find me crying," he admitted finally.

"Okay, I get how that was unusual."

Soda paused, studying the two, and made his way back to his seat, taking the long way around the table to walk behind the pair and drag Darry's hand down again.

His brother sent him a sheepish look, rubbing his thumb gently. He'd bitten so low the skin was actually bleeding.

"Stop it," Soda ordered softly, and Darry sighed, leaning back in his seat and gripping the table so hard his knuckles turned white.

"So what happ – "

A knock at the door interrupted him.

"Soda? Everything okay in there?"

Soda got up and opened the kitchen door. Ponyboy gazed at him anxiously.

"Everything okay?" he repeated.

"Sure, Pone," his brother replied, hearing Steve shuffle in his chair behind him. "It's all cool. Just give us a few minutes, yeah?"

Pony nodded and smiled tentatively before turning away, and Soda shut the door, making his way back to the table.

He sat down and paused, staring at his older brother's hands. Darry was now holding a set of keys, absentmindedly flipping each key over the top of the ring so it hit the key down on the other side, before moving on to the next. Soda stared, mesmerised for a moment, then blinked and looked back at Steve.

"So then what happened?"

"Like he said, I walked in to find him bawling on the couch," Darry confirmed. "I asked him what was wrong."

"And then – "

"And then what happened?" both Darry and Steve mimicked in unison.

Soda grinned.

"Yeah, that was exactly what I were gonna say. So how about you guys just tell me everything from the beginning?"

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><p><strong>Author Note: Okay, so I know Darry might seem slightly OOC in this chapter but in my opinion we didn't see enough of him in the books, and the bit we do see shows him as a fill-in parent trying too hard. But he is only 20 after all and I don't believe we saw the 'real' him.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4  flashback

*** FLASHBACK ***

Darry sighed in relief as he finally trudged up the porch steps. He had just worked a double shift and what a shift it had been. First the guy he was partnered with was late so they'd fallen behind on the roof, then the dumbass had left half his tools 'in a mate's truck'. Along with his common sense, in Darry's opinion. Meaning his boss was now pissed at the pair of them because they'd have to go back tomorrow to finish off, and that was Darry's fault how?

He opened the front down and instantly tossed his tool belt to the floor with a 'thunk', causing the greaser on the couch to jump violently.

"Sorry," Darry muttered, figuring it wasn't any of the gang's fault he was disgruntled.

"S'okay," Steve murmured back, not turning around.

"Where's everyone else?"

"At the Double, I think," Steve replied in a low voice.

"You not fancy it?"

"Just got off work."

"Like it's bothered you before, wandering in halfway through the movie. The cute chicks never show up 'til the finale."

There was no reply to that and on normal day Darry wouldn't have cared. It was lame attempt at humour anyway. But with the day he'd had the least he expected was a bit of respect from the damn people who constantly roamed into his home whenever the hell they felt like it and to not get ignored.

"Well, if ya just hanging around here in hopes of a free meal then beat it," Darry snapped. "I ain't in the mood for cooking right now."

"Oh, so that's what ya think of me, is it?" came the bitter reply. "Mooching off ya, am I?"

Darry felt his temper boil.

"Yeah, call it that if ya likes. I don't work two jobs to feed some kid who ain't got diddly squat to do with me."

Darry took a step back in shock as Steve shot up like a rocket and spun around to face him for the first time since he'd entered the room.

"Oh, that's just it, isn't it? I'm just some worthless teenager who'd ya be far better off without! Ya think you've got the right to say and do what you like to me and it don't matter because you can just apologise and make it all better in the morning! Well, maybe it don't work like that! Maybe one day things _won't_ get better! Maybe one day this useless kid will just decide to find someone somewhere that _does_ give a damn or maybe, just maybe, this kid will give up the fight once and for all. Ya ever thought of that, huh?"

Darry was stunned to silence. Not by the furious words pouring helplessly from the mechanic's lips. Not by the clenched fists and defensive stance of the greaser's body. But by the red eyes and the tears flowing freely down Steve's face.

The room was quiet for a few moments after the angry tirade, apart from Steve's harsh breathing. Finally Darry spoke.

"I think most of that speech was supposed to be directed at your dad."

Steve let out a little chuckle that Darry swore turned into a half-sob, then the teenager dropped back down on the sofa and buried his face in his hands.

"Sorry."

"For what?" the eldest Curtis asked, approaching him cautiously and sitting down beside him.

"Yelling at you."

Darry half-smiled and shrugged.

"I didn't mean what I said to you either. Bad day."

"Join the club."

"Wanna tell me about it?"

"Just my dad again."

There was a pause.

"Wanna tell me about it?" Darry asked again, leaning back against the cushions.

Steve turned and looked at him.

"Why? It's the same old, same old."

"But is it?"

Steve just continued staring at him, forehead furrowed. Darry elaborated.

"Something different musta happened. You've never…" He gestured vaguely. "You've never been like this before."

Steve looked away, embarrassed and started wiping his face with his sleeve.

"I…just… it… I'm just so fed up of it all."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning my dad. Always yelling at me. Hitting me." His hand went unconsciously to his side and Darry's eyes followed it, making a mental note to check it out later. "Thinking a couple of bucks the next day's makes up for the pain he… And Evie," he continued with a rush, not wanting to admit how much it hurt what his dad put him through. Although Darry wondered if it was to him or Steve himself he was hiding this from. "And Evie… oh, Darry, I do like her, not _like_ her like her, at least I don't think I do. But even so I hate that she's always god knows where chatting up god knows who, acting like some cheap whore. Am I not enough? _Why_ am I not enough?" He was half-talking to himself at this point. "Dad don't care. Evie don't care. Why don't no one care?"

"The gang cares," Darry interrupted. Steve blinked as if coming back to himself and focused his still red-rimmed eyes on the older greaser. "We all care, Steve. I wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't. Well, I might, it's my house after all. But you sure wouldn't."

Steve let out a half-smile at that, then stared blankly at the wall.

"My dad hates me."

"I'm sure he don't _hate_ you." Darry chose his words carefully.

"He does. I'm sure he does. And Evie don't love me, can't even be faithful to me, so what's the point?"

His voice suddenly cracked and he dropped his eyes down to the floor, gazing hard as if not blinking would keep the water in his eyes from spilling. But Darry saw. And he did the first thing his body compelled him to do. He sat up and pulled the distraught greaser into a tight hug.

"It's okay, Stevo. It's okay."

The true meaning of the whispered words was clear to Steve and he gave up fighting back the tears, letting them running freely down his cheeks as he pressed his face into Darry's shoulder. One of the eldest Curtis' hands was rubbing his back soothingly, while the other arm kept the younger male held tight to him.

"Why do I feel so alone?" came the broken question.

Darry caught his chin and tilted his head so their eyes met.

"You'll never be alone. The gang will never let you be alone."

It was then he realised their positions. Darry had previously been lounging on the couch, only sitting up to take the upset greaser into his arms. But he had somehow unconsciously during the exchange leant back again, drawing Steve with him. Consequently he was now leaning back against the sofa. With Steve half-lying on top of him.

Darry's eyes flickered over their positions and the look attracted Steve's attention and it then dawned on him their situation. However, neither made a motion to move and they stayed there, Darry's hand still on Steve's chin and their eyes locked.

"I…" Darry continued, fingers moving from Steve's chin to trace his jaw lightly. "_I_ will never let you feel alone."

Steve just continued gazing at him. Then suddenly, somehow, their lips collided.

Neither knew who made the move or whether it was both, only that it happened and then tongues were wrestling and teeth were nipping and hands were running through hair, tangled hair, to grab the back of heads to deepen those hot fierce kisses that were sending delicious bolts of pleasure through every nerve.

Then air, oh yes, such a cliché, but air was indeed necessary and they broke apart, panting, Darry's hands lazily caressing Steve's back, Steve's arms wrapped around Darry's neck, foreheads pressed together while eyes searched other eyes. And neither were disappointed with what they saw.

"Feeling alone now?" Darry breathed.

"Hell no," Steve whispered back.

"I'm glad. I mean it, I am. I know what it's like to feel alone. But most of the time, there _is _someone there. Even if we don't realise it."

"Yeah, I know. But sometimes I…I just wish…"

"Wish what? Talk to me, buddy."

"I wish my own damn family cared, you know. I mean, family's family, right? It _means_ something to people. I just wish mine did too. You gotta know it's different, Dar. You've got Soda and Pony, and they sure care."

"Ya think they'd care less if I weren't family? Ya'd think I would? If we found our birth certificates somewhere amongst our parent's stuff and the names on mine didn't match Soda's and Pony's do you believe they'd love me any less? Do you think I would them? Yeah, family's important, Steve. But there's more than one type of family. The gang's a family, Steve, you know that. _Your_ family. Better than that, even. You're the family we _chose_, not the one we were born with. We're family because we _want _to be. And that…_that_…means something. Ya dig?"

Steve stared at him then let out a weak smile.

"Yeah, I dig. And I think you dig pretty okay too."

Darry sent him a lazy smile.

"Good." His eyes darkened and he rested his forehead against Steve's once more. "Remember that next time to want to…" He wiped away a stray tear. "…vent."

Steve smiled slowly and licked his lips, eyes flicked down to Darry's mouth and back up.

"Oh, yeah. There'll definitely be a next time."

*** END FLASHBACK ***

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><p><strong>Author Note: That was incredibly difficult to write. I wanted to show the <em>how<em> and _why_ but they just wanted to _do_. Lil devils. **So I'm not too sure if I'm 100% happy with this chappie. I might do a re-write at some point. What do you think? **Plus my word processor doesn't know how to spell Darry. It kept insisting I should put dairy. LOL. **


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, I guess I kinda see now. However, answer me one more thing." He turned to Steve. "Why the keys?"

"Huh?"

"Keys," Soda repeated, pointing at the items in Darry's hands. His brother blinked and looked down at them as if realising for the first time he had them. "They're yours. Why give him them?"

"Would you rather he concentrate on the conversation or continue to try and gnaw his fingers off?"

"Well, duh, you know the answer to that. But how'd you know to give him them? It's rare for Dar to get nervous, I didn't realise any of you guys knew of this habit of his."

Steve didn't reply right away. He simply looked over at Darry and something passed between them before the eldest greaser gave a half-smile and looked down again.

"That all happened a month ago," Steve answered, slowly. "Between then and now…well…I weren't the only one who needed to get a few things off my chest."

Soda couldn't hide the look of hurt that appeared in his eyes.

"You could have come to me, Dar," he told him. "Whatever ya needed to say. You should have been able to come to me. We're brothers, right? We share."

"I know. I'm sorry, Soda," Darry murmured, not looking up. "Things are just…things are sometimes complicated. I'm your guardian, I shouldn't be dumping stuff on you. It was easier to do it with Steve."

"I don't care," Soda replied stoutly. "Ya were my brother before my guardian, right? And you always will be. Everything ya've vented to him, I wanna know, understand? I want ya to tell me. And you _will_ tell me!" he hissed, half-fiercely, pointing a (not very) threatening finger at his big brother.

Darry grinned.

"Sure, Soda, I will. Tonight, yeah?" he agreed, promise evident in his eyes.

Soda nodded once, satisfied.

"Tonight."

"But what now?" Steve asked.

"What what now?"

"This," Steve pressed, waving a hand between himself and Darry. "You gonna tell the guys about this?"

"I dunno. What exactly _is_ this? You two serious or what?"

There was a moment of awkward silence. Darry glanced at Steve hesitantly, who avoided the look and simply licked his lips nervously; and Soda correctly guessed that, despite what else the pair might have shared during the last few weeks, a discussion about where exactly the relationship was heading hadn't occurred.

"I'm not gonna tell them," he replied finally.

A sense of relief immediately flashed through the other two.

"But…" the blond continued. "If…this…" (there was more hand waving there) "If this does go on much longer, ya guys _are_ gonna have to tell them. It's not on to lie to them."

"We're not lying to them!" Steve protested, at the same moment Darry pointed out: "It's not like anyone's _asked_."

"Well, ya hiding something at any rate," Soda retaliated firmly. "And it sure ain't fair to make me do the same, you dig? And what if someone _did_ ask, Dar, huh? Would you then deny it?"

His brother looked faintly amused.

"That'll be a hell of a situation for _that_ to crop up."

"No more than this one," Steve muttered, to which Darry was quick to bow his head.

"True," he murmured.

He sent a tentative glance in the dark-haired mechanic's direction.

"And to answer your question, Soda," he replied slowly, eyes never leaving Steve's face. "No, I don't think I would deny it."

Steve's head shot up and he stared back at the older greaser with a shocked look. Then he blinked and sent Darry a half-smile.

"Then I guess I wouldn't either."

The pair continued gazing at each other and Soda looked back and forth between them a few times before pointedly coughing, causing the duo to blink abruptly and turn back to him. He sent them both a sly grin, receiving twin blushes in return, before standing up and heading for the kitchen door.

"Oh, and do me a favour, guys? In future, lock the damn door."


End file.
